Acoustical vibrato apparatus



July 2, 1963 H. H. SANTI ACOUSTICAL VIBRATO APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed May 28, 1959 INVENTOR.

July 2, 1963 H. H. SANTI ACOUSTICAL VIBRATO APPARATUS I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed May 28, 1959 I /O'f/IJ' Jan 2/ INVEN TOR. M a M United StatesPatent $395,940 ACOUSTICAL VIBRATO APPARATUS Harris Herman Santi, LaPorte, Tex., assignor to Rototone, Inc., Houston, Tex., a corporation ofTexas Filed May 28, 1959, Ser. No. 816,610 4 Claims. (Cl. 18127) Thepresent invention relates to an acoustical vibrato apparatus and, moreparticularly, relates to the improvement in a rotatable vibratoproducing deflector which results in the production of improved tonalqualities from a sound source.

Generally, various types of mechanical acoustical apparatus have beenused such as rotating horns and rotating blades to add tremolo orvibrato to the sound produced by a loud speaker. For instance, see myPatent Number 2,847,081 which discloses a rotatable blade mounted infront of a speaker enclosed in a baflled enclosure or housing. Thetremolo producing blades of the prior art changes the sound output fromthe speaker by producing a variation in the volume output of thespeaker. The present invention is directed towards improvements in therotatable deflector blade which adds desirable acoustical qualities tothe tremolo or vibrato produced as the deflector is rotated.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved rotatable deflector which includes flanges connected to theouter extremities of the deflector which create a compression or closeloading on the front of the speaker thereby changing the tonal outputfrom the speaker.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rotatabletremolo producing blade having flanges which when rotated parallel tothe mouth of the speaker change the pitch of the sound output. Thispitch change effect may be varied by changing the angle at which theflanges are connected to the rotatable blade.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of variousshaped and sized flanges which are positioned along the outer edges ofthe rotatable tremolo blade and parallel to the axis of the blade whichproduce multiple loading effects on the front of the speaker and providea phase shift on the sound produced by the speaker and introduce breakupin the sound. The degree of the effects produced depend upon the sizeand shapes of the flanges selected.

Yet a further object of the present invention is the provision offlanges along the outer extremities of "a rotatable vibrato bladeprovided with a plurality of openings in the flanges which addbrilliance and smooth out the string ensembles of an organ input to thespeaker.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision ofaxial flanges along the outer extremities of a rotatable blade having aplurality of slots in the free end-s of the flanges which also improvethe tonal quality by adding brilliance to and enhancing the sound ofstrings.

Other and further objects, features and advantages will be apparent fromthe following description of presently preferred embodiments of theinvention, given for the purpose of disclosure and taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, where like character referencesdesignate like parts throughout the several views, and where FIGURE 1 isa partial view, in cross-section, illustrating a rotatable deflector inan acoustical enclosure and illustrating an apparatus according to theinvention,

FIGURE 2 is a view taken along the line Z2 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1,

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FIGURE 4 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 3 illustrating the flangeof FIGURE 3 and including a plurality of openings in the flange,

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 3 illustrating the flangeof FIGURE 3 and including slots provided along the free edge of theflange,

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of a modified form of a rotatableblade having curved flanges,

FIGURE 7 is another modified form of the present invention similar toFIGURE 6 with the addition of curved ends added to the free ends of theflanges,

FIGURE 8 is another modified cross-sectional View of the presentinvention in which the flanges are provided in the shape of exaggeratedVs, and

FIGURE 9 is the cross-sectional View of another modification of thepresent invention illustrating a single flat type flange.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURES l and 2, thereference numeral 16) generally designates the rotatable deflector bladewhich is conventionally rotated in front of and parallel to the opening15 of the speaker 12, both of which, are suitably enclosed in anacoustical enclosure or housing 14. The present invention is directed tothe flanges 16 which are attached to the outer extremities of therotatable blade 10'. The acoustical enclosure 14 is not part of thepresent invention as the flanges 16 may be used in various types ofacoustical enclosures such as disclosed in my Patent No. 2,847,081 orthe acoustical enclosure of George, Patent No. 2,780,302. Preferably,however, the speaker 12 must be baflled to some extent to allow thetremolo blade 10 and the flanges 16 to produce multiple loading effectson the front of the speaker and create compression on the sound outputfrom the speaker 12. Therefore, the speaker 12 may be, if desired,positioned recessed in a support member 18 in one side of the acousticalenclosure similar to that shown in FIGURE 1 and in my Patent No.2,847,081. Preferably, the cabinet enclosure or housing 14 has openings20 on opposite sides of the cabinet 14 and parallel to the axis 23 ofthe rotatable blade 10. Thus, a stereophonic effect is produced by theuse of the two openings 20 on either side of the rotatable blade 10'. Asis conventional in acoustical enclosures, the top and bottom sides (notshown) are provided to increase the bafliing or loading effect on thespeaker 12. A motor 22, as is conventional, is provided to rotate theblade 12 by any desirable connections. Of course, other types of speakerand acoustical enclosure arrangements may be utilized in connection withthe flanged rotatable blade of the present invention and various typesof baffling arrangements may be used.

The rotatable tremolo blade or paddle 10 may be made integrally as shownin the prior art and connected to its rotatable axis 23 or as shown mayinclude for ease of manufacture sides 26 and 28 connected at the axis 23by any convenient means such as bolts 30.

As best seen in FIGURE 1, the flanges 16 of the present invention areconnected axially to the outer ends 11 of the rotatable blade 10 andparallel to the blade axis 23. Since the clearance between the outerends 11 and the supporting recessed partition 18 is maintained as smallas possible to increase the loading of the rotatable blade 10 on thespeaker 12, the free ends 32 of the flanges 16 are preferably positionedso as not to protrude radially outward any further than the ends 11.Preferably, as shown in FIGURE 1, the direction of rotation of therotatable blade 10 is in the clockwise direction and the flanges 16 areconnected to the outer ends 11 so as to trail behind the blade 10 as itrotates. Thus as the flanges 16 are rotated in a plane in front of andparallel to the opening of the speaker 12 the flanges produce multipleloading effects on the front of the speaker, and introduce harmonicbreakup in the air column or sound path of the speaker 12, change thepitch and cause a phase shift in the sound output. 'Of course, thedegree of the eflects produced depend upon the size and shape of theflanges 16. As shown in FIGURE 1, one type of flange which has producedvery desirable characteristics is the V- shaped flange having one side33 connected to the end 11 of the rotatableblade while the other side 32of the V is free. While the dimension of the flange 16, as best seen inFIGURE 2, along the line of connection or joinder to the blade 10 is thesame as the blade 10, the dimension of the flanges 16 from theirconnection at the outer ends 11 of the rotatable blade 10 in arearwardly direction from the blade 10, as best seen in FIGURE 1, is nogreater than the diameter of the speaker opening although they are of asuflicient extent to increase the loading effect on the speaker.

As best seen in FIGURES 4 and 5, various modifications can be made tothe flanges 16 to add desirable tonal qualities to the sound output fromthe speaker. As shown in FIGURE 4 a plurality of holes 36 may beprovided, preferably near the apex of the flanges 16 which, it has beenfound, add brilliance to the high frequencies. Of course these holes maybe of other shapes such as square or rectangular. As best seen in FIGURE5, slots 38 may be provided in the free end 32 of the flanges 16 whichalso add brilliance to the high frequencies.

Of course various modifications of the flanges 16 may be made whichprovide a loading effect on the speaker 12 and add desirable tonalqualities to the sound output. FIGURES 6, 7, 8 and 9 illustratemodifications of the flanges according to the invention, the letters a,b, c, and d, being applied to parts corresponding to those in FIGURES1-3, inclusive, for convenience of reference. FIGURES 6 and 7 illustratea rotatable blade deflector 10 having are shaped flanges 16a and 161;,respectively. In addition, FIGURE 7 illustrates a modification having areversed tip 40 added on to the free end 320 of the flanges 16b.

FIGURE 8 illustrates another modification in which the flanges 16cconsist of an exaggerated deep V. The reversed tip 42 may also beprovided at the free end 32c of these flanges. FIGURE 9 illustratesanother modification in which the flanges 16a consist of a single flatbody.

The angle between the flanges 16, 16c, and 1601, respectively, and therotatable blade Iii may be varied thereby effecting changes in the pitchof the sound output.

The paddle 10 and flange 16 are preferably made of a resilient metal sothat as compression on loading of the speaker occurs as the paddle isrotated, the paddle 10 and flange 16 will have a radial springing orvibrating motion caused by their loading the speaker thereby addingharmonics to the sound output.

In use, the rotatable deflector 111 is rotated at tremolo speed which isin the range of 5 to 7 cycles per second. Therefore, since the blade 1.0has sides 26 and 28, the speed of rotation of the shaft 23 is one-halfof the desired tremolo beat. If desired only one-half of the blade 10need be used and in that case the motor pulley is revolved at the speedof the desired tremolo. As the blade 18 rotates the blade 10 creates acompression on the front of the baflled speaker 12 thereby producing thetremolo or vibrato as is conventional. If desired, the clearance betweenthe ends 11 of the paddle 10 and the support- 4 ing partition 18 is madea practical minimum to load the front of the speaker 12. The flanges 16,16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d produce multiple loading effects on the front ofthe speaker as they in turn are periodically positioned in front of andparallel to the speaker opening and produce various degrees of pitchchange, sound breakup and phase shift depending upon the size, shape andangular position of the flanges with respect to the blade 10.Furthermore, the addition of openings 36 (FIGURE 4) in the body of theflanges or slots 38 (FIGURE 5) to the free end 32 of the flanges producethe desirable effect of adding brilliance to the high frequencies.Furthermore, reverse curves such as 48 (FIGURE 7) and 42 (FIGURE 8) mayalso be added to the various flange shapes to add a multiple tremolobeat to the sount output. The use of resilient metal blades and flangeswill also produce a radial vibrating motion of the blades and flangesand add harmonics to the output.

The present invention, therefore, is' well adapted to carry out theobjects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as othersinherent therein. While presently preferred embodiments of the inventionare given for the purpose of disclosure, numerous changes in the detailsof construction and arrangement of 'parts and numerous modifications ofthe flanges may be made which will readily suggest themselves to thoseskilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a rotatable vibrato sound producing apparatus having a speaker ina housing, such speaker having an opening, a rectangular blade deflectorhaving first and second ends, and having a width sufficient to extendacross the speaker, said blade deflector being rotatable about an axispositioned in front of and parallel to the plane of the speaker opening,and means operatively associated with the blade deflector for rotatingsaid blade deflector, the improvement comprising,

two flanges, one of which is connected to the first end and the secondof which is connected to the second end of the blade deflector, thedimension of the flanges atthe line of connection to the blade deflectorbeing the same as the blade deflector, the entire body of said flangesextending rearwardly from the blade deflector relative to the directionof rotation, the distance of said rearward extent being no greater thanthe speaker opening, but being of a distance suflicient to increase theloading effect on the speaker. 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein theflanges in cross section are substantially V-shaped members.

3. The invention of claim 2 including openings in said flanges proximatethe apex of the V.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein the flanges include a plurality ofopenings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS181,472 Pierce Aug. 22, 1876 203,932 Potter May 21, 1878 2,450,139Hartsough Sept. 28, 1948 2,780,302 0 George Feb. 5, 1957 2,847,081 SantiAug. 12, 1958 2,869,667 Leslie Jan. 20, 1959

1. IN A ROTATABLE VIBRATO SOUND PRODUCING APPARATUS HAVING A SPEAKER INA HOUSING, SUCH SPEAKER HAVING AN OPENING, A RECTANGULAR BLADE DEFLECTORHAVING FIRST AND SECOND ENDS, AND HAVING A WIDTH SUFFICIENT TO EXTENDACROSS THE SPEAKER, SAID BLADE DEFLECTOR BEING ROTATABLE ABOUT AN AXISPOSITIONED IN FRONT OF AND PARALLEL TO THE PLANE OF THE SPEAKER OPENING,AND MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE BLADE DEFLECTOR FOR ROTATINGSAID BLADE DEFLECTOR, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING, TWO FLANGES, ONE OFWHICH IS CONNECTED TO THE FIRST END AND THE SECOND OF WHICH IS CONNECTEDTO THE SECOND END OF THE BLADE DEFLECTOR, THE DIMENSION OF THE FLANGESAT THE LINE OF CONNECTION TO THE BLADE DEFLECTOR BEING THE SAME AS THEBLADE DEFLECTOR, THE ENTIRE BODY OF SAID FLANGES EXTENDING REARWARDLYFROM THE BLADE DEFLECTOR RELATIVE TO THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION, THEDISTANCE OF SAID REARWARD EXTENT BEING NO GREATER THAN THE SPEAKEROPENING, BUT BEING OF A DISTANCE SUFFICIENT TO INCREASE THE LOADINGEFFECT ON THE SPEAKER.